A Hollywood Hyphenate

Johnny Sanchez is a man who knows how to wear different hats

Hollywood has birthed a singularly slick term to position and market a creative person who attempts and succeeds to do more than one thing in life: a hyphenate.

If once a upon a time these artists were heralded as geniuses or renaissance people, now the age of Aquarius has given way to the age of diversification. Younger multi-talents may have to constantly prove that artistic expression is not tantamount to dilletantism, but not so for actor Johnny Sanchez who, refusing to be satisfied doing one thing, successfully broke the traditional punctuation and replaced "The End" with a neverending "To Be Continued".

Poised for a breakthrough year, Sanchez ?s ambidexterity will shine with acting roles and cameos in four motion pictures and a first time production opportunity under the moniker of "producer" for his newly formed 3 Wolves Production company; which he co-founded with producing partners Rita Branch and Roger Zamudio. All three thesps met years ago while struggling and playing bit parts in movies. Sanchez formed Three Wolves with his two actor buddies... tired of playing stereo typical roles they dreamed of the day they could make the impossible possible, to make the movies they believe in and that they could act in as well.

"Find Me Guilty", "Downtown", "212", and "Tom 51" are all recent additions to this actor?s already impressive filmography. Directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Vin Diesel "Find Me Guilty" is based on the true story of the longest mafia trial in the history of the United States. The script for "Guilty" came to Sanchez while he was acting in "Downtown: aSstreet Tale." After having read the script Sanchez and his producing partners took the script to financier Bob Yari who immediately fell in love with the story. Soon thereafter, they took the script to Sydney Lumet. Once Lumet came on board, Sanchez read for Mr. Lumet and by that point he was not only hired as an actor, but had also become a co-producer on the project.

Another film for Sanchez is "Downtown: a Street Tale" where he co-stars opposite Genvieve Bujold. Premiering at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles and directed by Rafael Zielinski and written by Joey Dedio, "Downtown" is about a diverse group of homeless young adults living in the streets of New York City. The film stars also include John Savage, Michael Wright and Burt Young.

As if that wasn?t already enough Sanchez has another film he just wrapped called 212. Directed by Anthony Ng, and completely shot on location in NYC; 212 is a quirky love story that centers around six unlikely characters whose fates cross when they least expect it in ways they never predicted.

What else is up for actor Johnny Sanchez this coming year? Tom 51, written and directed by Ron Carlson. Here the Brooklyn born actor has an unforgettable cameo opposite longtime friend Clifton Collins Jr. (a.ka. Clifton Gonzalez) who stars in the film. Jacob Vargas, Michael Rappaport and Mila Kunis (That 70's Show) also star in Tom 51.

Johnny Sanchez certainly knew how to successfully strut his way into the competitive world of acting. Upon graduating from the Performing Arts High School in New York, he moved to Los Angeles where he secured a series of roles in several films and television productions. Sanchez?s acting portfolio features a line-up of memorable characters opposite prestigious talents such as Steve Martin, Heather Graham and Eddie Murphy in "Bowfinger", Michael J. Fox and James Woods in "The Hardway", Drew Barrymore and Whoopie Goldberg in "Boys On The Side", and worked as well under the directorial genius of Steven Soderbergh in "The Limey".

Armed with a resume including appearances on hit TV shows such as NBC?s "ER", UPN?s "Air America", Fox?s "Action" and Tracey Ullman?s "Tracey Takes on?", Sanchez didn?t shy away from theatre. A member of the prestigious LAByrinth Theater, run by Artistic Directors Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, he participated in numerous productions including "Divine Horsemen" (Paul Calderon), "10-13" (David Zayas) and "Trail of Her Inner Thigh" (Erin Cressida Wilson), to name a few.

Balancing film, television, theater and production projects, Johnny Sanchez is a man who knows how to wear different hats! His fiery Latin-influenced origins certainly contribute to fueling this passionate dedication to his craft. An artist at heart, Johnny is first and foremost an actor of great talents and with Three Wolves Production he is readying to launch other projects. New York actor Johnny Sanchez is definitely making strides in the Hollywood circles and he is a face and name to both know and remember.